


Love

by sariloire



Series: Ashae Lavellan [32]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 16:56:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5593834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sariloire/pseuds/sariloire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashae reflects on the moment she realised she had fallen in love with Solas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love

Ashae knew when it had happened. She could pinpoint the month and day, even down to the time of day. She knew exactly when the realization had hit her. She knew when her life had changed, not as big a change as the conclave had provided, but a big change, nonetheless.

She knew the exact moment that she had realized she was in love with Solas.

It wasn’t a big event, there wasn’t lightning or rainbows. Ashae hadn’t fallen to the ground and confessed her feelings as some tended to do in the plays she had read about. But the quickening of her heart when she saw Solas had only grown worse. She sought for more ways to cross paths with him, she made up excuses to talk to him when there was nothing pressing to being discussed.

Yes, she knew she was in love with him.

There was only one other time in her life that she had felt this familiar feeling, only once before had she been in love. It was with Camras, the elf her Keeper had decided would be a good future mate for her. It had not worked out between them, and he had caused her nothing but heartache with his insistence that he ‘play the good little Dalish’ and be content living a secluded life with no knowledge of the outside world.

It had been years since Camras, almost a decade. And in all that time, no one had quickened her heart like Solas had. No one had drawn her in and made her long for more, while also keeping her at arm’s length and keeping the relationship on tentatively friendly terms.

Ashae had kissed Solas in the Fade on impulse, she wanted to see if the tension she had felt between them was worth exploring, worth pushing. And the kiss he returned had proven to her that yes, there was something there that she wanted to discover more of. There was no question about it.

But when she spoke to him afterward, it was clear that he was nervous about what had happened between them. He apologized and said he needed time. It was a bit disappointing, to be sure, but Ashae had told him to take all the time he needed. And she had meant it, entirely and completely.

She had needed her own time to figure out what exactly she felt about the man, and what she planned to do about it.

But it wasn’t until Solas’ friend Wisdom had been killed, and Solas had disappeared after avenging the spirit, that the thoughts started in her mind that she just _might_ have feelings for him that included more than just simple interest and physical attraction.

Ashae had walked the battlements for days while he was gone, and when he finally returned, there was no need for anyone to tell her. She had seen him first, and had hurried to greet him and make sure that he was okay. There had been such sadness in his eyes, and such a heaviness to his slumped shoulders, that she had wanted to take him in her arms and brush all of his pain away.

She had refrained, had done little more than lay a comforting hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly, asking how he was doing and if he was okay. She kept their conversation on a friendly level, but then her feelings on the matter rushed out of her mouth. “The next time you have to mourn, you don’t have to be alone.”

“It’s been so long since I could trust someone.” He had looked down as he spoke, his hands clasped loosely.

A heartbeat passed before Ashae whispered, “I know.”

Solas looked up then, his eyes still full of pain and hurt, but also warmth and… something she wasn’t sure if she was really seeing, or if it was just wishful thinking.

“I’ll work on it.” His tone was lighter, and it had given a lift to her heart. He had reached up and put his hand on hers for a moment, before letting go and turning to walk into the castle. “And thank you.”

Ashae didn’t turn, but she heard his footsteps quiet as he walked further away. Or it could have been that her heart was beating so wildly that it had drowned out the sounds of his footsteps. She still wasn’t sure.

Because at that moment, her mind was racing through all the time they had spent together since she became the _Herald_ , and then _Inquisitor_. The hours of conversation, the days spend in the field on missions, the nights spent around campfires sharing stories, the playful banter that had passed between them, the thinly-veiled, and sometimes not veiled at all, flirting.

And she had realised that it had evolved into something much, much more than she had ever meant for their playfulness to turn into.


End file.
